IANAUIE (guess what that stands for. ;) ) Yet I am primarily responsible for the UI on the product on which I'm writing code. I started out with a bland and cr

IANAUIE (guess what that stands for. ;) ) Yet I am primarily responsible for the UI on the product on which I'm writing code. I started out with a bland and crappy interface expecting the client to look at that and provide their branding and suggestions for how it should work. Most UI elements are their default colors. Style? Please, I'm an engineer! I thought at some point they would provide a detailed list of requirements to provide a decent UI. I thought wrong. I have done what I could to provide an easy to use intuitive interface. Unfortunately what is intuitive for me is not going to be intuitive to others. Eventually I did receive some usability suggestions. I'm not sure they were carefully thought out. One point I would have suggested aligned with a marketing video on their web site but did not match their requirement. Until producers of products of products care about the appearance and usability of their products, these things are not likely to get better. As for my own feelings about UI, there are a few beliefs I hold deeply. If a UI can model some sort of physical reality, it is going to be easier to use. If not a physical reality, at the least a consistent model. I hate UIs that change depending on state. Disappearing menu items or screen elements drive me nuts. Think of shifting sands. Discoverability is something that concerns me. Much of the S/W I work with has options or key shortcuts that I never know about because I'm too lazy to read through the manual. I do not know the solution to this, but I do know the problem.